Owyhee rolls to Section 7 boys basketball title. ‘People are now noticing Idaho’

Owyhee’s boys basketball program already captured two state championships. But now the third-year high school is turning heads across the nation.

The Storm swept through one of the two elite brackets last weekend at Section 7 in Arizona, a staple of the national recruiting circuit.

Owyhee took down a decorated listed of teams to win its 16-team bracket:

• Perry, the three-time defending state champ in Arizona’s top classification

• Central Catholic, the reigning state champ in Oregon’s largest classification

• Salesian, the state runner-up in California’s open division

• Oak Ridge, the state runner-up in Florida’s largest classification

“This is the who’s who of high school basketball, and our kids went out and won it,” Owyhee coach Andy Harrington said.

The tournament fits into one of two live high school recruiting periods in the summer and draws college coaches from around the country to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals and this year’s Final Four.

Arizona’s high school basketball coaches association runs the event, and it is sponsored by the state’s high school governing body. Harrington said nearly 900 teams applied for one of 160 spots in the tournament.

“Every coach in the country you could think of is there recruiting,” Harrington said. “Our first game against Perry, I was pretty overwhelmed with over 100 Division I coaches there.”

But with four of five starters returning from the Storm’s 5A state championship in March, Owyhee knocked off Perry 56-51 before routing the rest of its competition by double digits.

The Storm beat Central Catholic 71-56, topped Salesian 58-48 in the semifinals, then blew past Oak Ridge 83-64 in the finals. Oak Ridge fields two of the top 100 recruits in the class of 2025, according to 247Sports.

Recent Idaho commit Jackson Rasmussen led the way all weekend, averaging 23.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over four games. Incoming senior Boden Howell averaged 17 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists, and incoming junior Logan Haustveit posted 10.5 points and 2.5 assists per game.

Harrington said his phone hasn’t stopped blowing up, and Owyhee has since received invites to elite national high school tournaments, including the Hoophall Classic at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the City of Palms Classic in Florida.

“We went toe-to-toe with the best teams across the country, and we won,” Harrington said. “ … I think it puts us and Idaho on the map even more. We have really, really good basketball here, and really, really good players here.

“People are now noticing Idaho.”